I care. And so I run.

For the short time that I’ve been running semi-competitively (aka. competing in 5k races), each new race was mainly a competition against myself, trying to run faster and to improve from the previous race.

A couple weeks ago, I sort of spontaneously registered for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k (March 21, 2010) with a few other people from my church. This time I’m running with more of a purpose. We joined Team World Vision to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief as part of this race.

The four of us from the left of the picture are all racing again in the Shamrock Shuffle (plus one of our youth group members too!)

So the challenges of this race for me are twofold:

It’s the longest distance I’ve ever run (4.9 miles). I’m gradually trying to increase my endurance and distance over these next few weeks of training. I ran 4 miles last week, so I’ll get there, but my goal is to just finish and not worry about my time.

To raise at least $200 as a team for Haiti. Right now we’re at $130, but I really think we can go above and beyond our $200 goal if we all kick up our fundraising efforts a few notches.

Will you consider sponsoring us in this race to raise money for World Vision and Haiti? You can donate to our Salt ‘N’ Light Team or you can donate to me (but I’ve already reached my personal fundraising goal, so I’d encourage you to donate to the team first).

If you have questions about donations or the race, feel free to contact me. If you can’t sponsor us financially, consider coming out to watch the race on March 21 (if you’re in Chicago) or at least be praying for us as we train and run!